First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) Insider Scott T. Crawley Sells 3,000 Shares

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) insider Scott T. Crawley sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.31, for a total transaction of $87,930.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 19,279 shares in the company, valued at approximately $565,067.49. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

First Financial Bancorp. Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FFBC opened at $29.40 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $25.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 0.99. First Financial Bancorp. has a 1-year low of $19.00 and a 1-year high of $29.77.

First Financial Bancorp. (NASDAQ:FFBC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The bank reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $302.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $214.00 million. First Financial Bancorp. had a return on equity of 10.32% and a net margin of 18.55%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that First Financial Bancorp. will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

First Financial Bancorp. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. First Financial Bancorp.’s payout ratio is currently 41.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $29.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on First Financial Bancorp. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 76.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 46,793 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 20,299 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 23.9% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 305,942 shares of the bank’s stock worth $6,917,000 after purchasing an additional 58,963 shares in the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp increased its holdings in First Financial Bancorp. by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 83,266 shares of the bank’s stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 1,094 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 9.1% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 234,168 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,250,000 after purchasing an additional 19,596 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of First Financial Bancorp. by 3.4% in the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 53,320 shares of the bank’s stock valued at $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 1,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.23% of the company’s stock.

First Financial Bancorp. Company Profile

First Financial Bancorp. operates as the bank holding company for First Financial Bank that provides commercial banking and related services to individuals and businesses in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Illinois. The company offers checking, savings, and money-market accounts; and accepts various deposit products, such as interest-bearing and non-interest-bearing accounts, time deposits, and cash management services for commercial customers.